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Pope Benedict XVI greets faithful from his summer residence of Castel Gandolfo, the scenic town where he will spend his first post-Vatican days and made his last public blessing as pope,Thursday, Feb. 28, 2013. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

In this June 25, 2012 file photo, Army Pfc. Bradley Manning, right, is escorted out of a courthouse in Fort Meade, Md. The Army private charged in the largest leak of classified material in U.S. history says he sent the material to WikiLeaks to enlighten the public about American foreign and military policy on Thursday, Feb. 28, 2013.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry holds some folders as he arrives for an international conference on Syria at Villa Madama, Rome, Thursday, Feb. 28, 2013. (AP Photo/Mauro Scrobogna, Lapresse) ITALY OUT

The soon-to-be-former Pope Benedict XVI said he is “simply a pilgrim” now as he left the Vatican and flew to a vacation retreat Thursday, hours before his historic resignation became official. Tears were shed as Benedict said goodbye to Vatican officials in the courtyard of the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace, with colorful Swiss Guards standing at attention. Bells tolled as he took a helicopter to Castel Gandolfo, where the central piazza was jammed with people hoping to catch a glimpse of him. The crowd cheered as Benedict appeared on a balcony, saying he was happy to be “surrounded by the beauty of the Creator.” As of 8 p.m., he said, he would no longer be pope. “I’m simply a pilgrim who is beginning the last stage of his pilgrimage on this earth,” Benedict said. Earlier, the retiring pope pledged his loyalty to the successor who will be chosen soon. To a gathering of cardinals inside the Apostolic Palace, he said: “Among you is also the future pope, whom I today promise my unconditional reverence and obedience.”

As a bystander recorded video, South African police tied a Mozambican taxi driver to the back of a police van and took off, dragging him on his back while a crowd shouted in dismay. The man, Mido Macia, 27, was later found dead inside a jail cell in the Daveyton township east of Johannesburg. The Independent Police Investigative Directorate said a murder investigation is under way, citing evidence that Macia suffered head and upper abdomen injuries and internal bleeding. The police watchdog agency said the incident started Tuesday evening when the cabdriver was obstructing traffic with his vehicle, and he allegedly assaulted a constable and took his weapon before he was overpowered. The widely viewed video reminded many of police brutality against black people during the apartheid era. “As horrific as it is, it is not exceptional,” said Jacob van Garderen, national director of Lawyers for Human Rights. “Hardly a week goes by without such stories of brutality.”

Secretary of State John Kerry pledged $60 million in nonlethal aid to the Syrian opposition — the first time it will be giving money directly to rebels fighting to depose President Bashar Assad. The aid package will consist of food rations and medical supplies for elements of the Free Syrian Army that are screened to ensure they do not include extremists. “No nation, no people should live in fear of their so-called leaders,” Kerry said, adding that the “decision to take further steps now is the result of the brutality of a superior armed force propped up by foreign fighters from Iran and Hezbollah.” The U.S. previously provided $385 million in humanitarian aid to Syria’s civilian population and $54 million in nonlethal aid to the political opposition. The newly announced $60 million was seen as a modest sum, and it wasn’t even acknowledged in remarks by the leader of the Syrian opposition coalition, Mouaz al-Khatib, who spoke alongside Kerry at a meeting in Italy and said, “Bashar Assad, for once in your life, behave as a human being. Bashar Assad, you have to make at least one wise decision in your life for the future of your country.”

Bradley Manning, the Army private accused of leaking thousands of classified documents to WikiLeaks, pleaded guilty Thursday to charges that could send him to prison for 20 years, but he pleaded not guilty to more serious charges and still faces trial and a possible life sentence. “I believe that if the general public … had access to the information … this could spark a domestic debate as to the role of the military and foreign policy in general,” Manning testified at a hearing in Fort Meade, Md., preceding his court martial, set for June 3. Manning pleaded guilty to 10 charges that he misused classified information, but he denied the most serious charge, aiding the enemy. Manning has spent more than 1,000 days in jail at Quantico Marine Base in Virginia.

North Korea’s enigmatic Kim Jong Un laughed and chatted as he watched Harlem Globetrotters play basketball in a gym in Pyongyang sitting next to his new BFF, ex-NBA star Dennis Rodman. The former Chicago Bulls player told Kim before a crowd of thousands, “You have a friend for life.” Ryan Duffy, a correspondent for the VICE media company, which is filming a documentary about the trip, said: “The crowd was really engaged, laughed at all of the Globetrotters’ antics, and actually got super loud toward the end as the score got close. Most fun I’ve had in a while.” Later, Rodman and the three Globetrotters who came with him wined and dined on a lavish dinner at Kim’s palace. In a country that has seen mass starvation, Duffy said: “Dinner was an epic feast. Felt like about 10 courses in total. I’d say the winners were the smoked turkey and sushi, though we had the Pyongyang cold noodles earlier in the trip and that’s been the runaway favorite so far.” He also said there were multiple rounds of toasts, and he said Kim got the whole crew “wasted.”

The Wire, a summary of top national and world news stories from the Associated Press and other wire services, moves weekdays. Contact Karl Kahler at 408-920-5023; follow him at twitter.com/karl_kahler.